What Your Go-To Combat Rig Says About Your Playstyle

A guide to choosing an ideal Combat Rig to match your playstyle in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

by TheDaSilvaDaily on February 16, 2017

Combat Rigs, described as “wearable, customizable weapons systems that will save your ass” by Lieutenant Commander James Rhomer in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, come in different shapes and sizes that are suitable for every kind of player. Each Rig features three different payloads and traits that improve certain elements of your gameplay, designed to make you harder, better, faster and stronger.

With six different Rigs, your go-to may say something about your playstyle; if you’re new to Infinite Warfare, this guide can help you figure out where to begin.

WARFIGHTER

Payloads: Claw; Combat Focus; Overdrive

Traits: Ping; Persistence; Resupply

The Warfighter Combat Rig is one of three Rigs that you have access to when you first enter multiplayer, along with the Merc and Synaptic, and it makes for a great starting point. A well-rounded Rig, the Warfighter is truly a jack-of-all-trades.

The three payloads that the Warfighter can utilize cover almost all desired outcomes: Claw as an extra boost on the offensive, Combat Focus for double streak points, and Overdrive if you have a need for speed. That variety in payloads alone makes this one of the most versatile Rigs to choose from.

If this is your go-to Rig, you’re probably a pretty straightforward player: you don’t need a lot of bells and whistles, you just need something that gets the job done efficiently. You know what works for you as a player, and thus can customize the Warfighter to be whatever you need it to be.

MERC

Payloads: Steel Dragon; Bull Charge; Reactive Armor

Traits: Infusion; Man-at-Arms; Shockwave

If you want to clear a room and take minimal damage in the process, then the Merc is the Rig for you. The Merc is focused on heavy defense and suppressive fire and it is easy to see why. The Merc is one of the biggest powerhouses available.

Steel Dragon and Bull Charge, two of the Merc’s available payloads, are beastly on the offensive front. Steel Dragon allows for multi-target tracking, giving you the ability to wipe out multiple opponents with a powerful energy beam. The Bull Charge is a souped-up ballistic shield that can take down anyone in your path, doing justice to its name. The Shockwave trait fits in nicely with these badboys, which allows you to perform a powerful ground slam from the air for area damage against multiple foes.

Appealing to the equally strong defense element of the Merc, the Reactive Armor payload allows for stronger damage protection, while the Infusion trait will help you regenerate health faster. If you want a little more mobility with your action, the Man-at-Arms trait should be right up your alley, giving you maximum ammo capacity to start with as an added bonus.

If you find yourself always opting for the Merc, you’re probably the type of player that likes to barrel straight into battle without having to worry as much about tactical strategy. You like to get in, get out and have no concerns about getting your hands dirty in the process.

SYNAPTIC

Payloads: Equalizer; Rewind; Reaper

Traits: Combat Burst; Propulsion; Rushdown

If you just gotta go fast, the Synaptic Rig is right where you want to be. This particular Rig hones in on speed and combat that is up-close and personal, making the Synaptic perfect for getting right up in your opponent’s face before taking them down.

The Synaptic’s traits primarily focus on speed, as Rushdown allows you to quick dash at any time, while Combat Burst rewards each of your kills with a subsequent temporary speed burst. Propulsion won’t help you move quicker, but it will give your thruster the energy to regenerate faster while simultaneously damaging enemies beneath you.

The payloads on the Synaptic offer a unique variety of attacks on nearby opposition, with the Reaper standing out in particular. Reaper allows you to transform into a lethal dog-like droid that’s mobile on all fours, allowing you to obliterate any enemy you come into contact with.

Some gamers can be on the impatient side, dying to get into the action as quickly as possible and wasting no time to respawn back to where they left off. If the Synaptic is your Rig of choice, it’s safe to say that you relish the speed to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible, and to always be where the action is — even if it’s on the other side of the map.

FTL

Payloads: Eraser; FTL Jump; Phase Shift

Traits: Supercharge; Perception; Power Slide

Similar to the Warfighter Rig, the FTL’s payloads and traits give you a handful of options for what you’d like to optimize in play — stealth, defense, you name it. This is the first unlockable Rig, which becomes available at Level 15, and it makes for an interesting step up if you’re normally a devoted Warfighter fan.

The FTL payloads touch all the bases: Eraser allows you to one-shot vaporize your enemies, FTL Jump lets you teleport a small distance forward, and Phase Shift literally lets you vanish into another dimension to avoid taking damage.

If you play on a team and like to jump between support, slayer and various other roles, the FTL gives you tons of room to do so. Combining Stryker’s team-friendly elements with the versatility of Warfighter’s abilities, the FTL is a happy medium for players who don’t want a designated role based on their Rig. With traits like Supercharge, which provides you with a payload cooldown pack after each kill (that can be also picked up by teammates), you can support your comrades while strengthening your own gameplay.

STRYKER

Payloads: Gravity Vortex Gun; Micro Turret; Centurion

Traits: Relay; Trophy Drone; Hardened

Do you gain more satisfaction from taking out a group of three opponents at once versus a single, clean headshot? Are you a fan of helping support your team as much as possible? If your answers were yes, the Stryker brings everything you want and need to the table all in one Rig. Available after Level 31, this Rig focuses on weapons and abilities that are the most useful for taking down multiple enemies or defending certain areas of the map.

With payloads like the Micro Turret, which is exactly what it sounds like, and the Centurion, which destroys projectiles and blocks enemy minimaps with an EMP, Stryker not only takes down enemies themselves but also defends against alternate enemy tactics.

If you typically game with a team or set group of friends and want to try your hands at a support role, the Stryker Rig would likely be your best bet. Making Stryker your main Rig shows that you not only like to see yourself succeed in battle, but want to help your teammates as much as possible along the way.

PHANTOM

Payloads: Ballista EM3; Pulsar; Active Camo

Traits: Marked Target; Rearguard; Heightened Senses

The Phantom is the Rig that takes longest to gain access to, becoming unlocked at Level 36, and it’s with good reason. This Rig essentially gives you the ability to become both a ninja and a walking UAV, making it ideal for players who rely on stealth and camping to take down their prey.

The Pulsar payload allows you to see where your enemies are situated, while Active Camo makes you nearly invisible. Meanwhile, in the traits department, Heightened Senses will track enemies that are sprinting or presently aerial, giving you sonar on fast moving opponents.

However, the Phantom does not just rely on stealth maneuvers to be a strong adversary. The Rearguard trait gives users a back shield to protect them against attacks from behind, making their defense that much stronger. As for the offensive, the Ballista EM3 payload is an EM projectile launcher with an incredibly high accuracy rating, while the Marked Target trait temporarily disables an enemy’s ability to regenerate health.

Like the name suggests, players who frequent Phantom are probably those who like to lurk in the shadows, take their time and (quite literally) scope out their targets. If this appeals to you and you haven’t already tried out some Phantom gameplay, be sure to take caution: certain perks and scorestreaks can render your ninja abilities useless.

Finding the best Rig for you may take some time, and the process may even surprise you. You might discover you’re a bigger fan of stealth combat than you originally thought, or that you love a Rig like the Warfighter or the FTL that lets you wear several different hats at once. But the important part is that no matter what your particular preference may be, there’s a Rig that’ll fit your particular style in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.